The pharmaceutical industry is pulling out the stops lobbying government officials and influencing those that are inclined toward prohibition, to protect not only their synthetic THC interests but also their vast exclusive pharmaceutical market.
Increased cannabis use is intruding on the pharmaceutical industry's turf.
It has been implied and most of us could see it coming, but on November 22, 2017, it became official. The DEA placed synthetic THC, Dronabinol, the medicinally powerful compound that creates the high in marijuana, as a Schedule II controlled substance, yet whole plant cannabis remains as a Schedule I controlled substance.
The most basic irony is the idea of synthetically creating one compound of a natural plant and making it legal for medical applications while banning the plant from which it was copied synthetically, even making its use illegal. Unfortunately, this is business as usual with the pharmaceutical industry.